A Tangled Fairy Tale
by susan friedman
Summary: Based loosely on the animated Anastasia. What happens when a young boy finds a lovely young girl that everyone is looking for in the woods and she's lost her memory? This is a mixed up fairy tale using lots of Disney characters from various films. Hope you enjoy. Chapter 3 up now
1. Chapter 1

A Tangled Fairy Tale

Prologue

A young boy of 24 on a hunting trip found her in the woods, a beaten and battered beauty with close cropped brown hair with beautiful, big green eyes. He had gotten lost in those green pools and he'd admit later to His Majesty, it was the main reason he had rescued her in the first place.

The girl, she couldn't be more than 16 years old, needed attending and the closest place he thought to bring her was to his three maiden aunt's house hidden deep in the woods of the fourth island kingdom, Charon. There she would gain her strength back and maybe later they would find out who she was and where she was from. The girl was barely conscious as it was.

"Help me," she cried as she stretched out her arms to him and he knew he was hooked. Explaining this to the Prince would be another matter.

He scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the clearing where another was waiting.

"Where the heck have you been and what is that in your arms?" his companion frowned as he stared at his bundle.

"Quick, we've got to get her to safety before she's discovered."

"Who the heck is she?"

"I'm not exactly sure and I'm not even sure how she got here," the boy said, "but she's got to be hidden away until I can be sure that I'm right about her." He looked at his companion. "Father will know right away once he sees her. He's been following this story in the local papers."

His companion frowned and shook his head. "You don't think that she's…"

The boy smiled and nodded. "I do, but as I said I can't be sure. It will take time to identify her. She looks familiar, but we have to play safe. Someone must be looking for her. For now, she must recover. We could use the fame and most likely the fortune that's sure to come with it."

His companion shook her head. "We've got to get back and I don't know why you think that we need…"

But the boy wasn't paying attention anymore, he was staring down at her unconscious form.

"Let's get her over to my aunt's house. They'll keep her safe and they'll be glad of the company. They will be able to keep a secret, I know."

His companion frowned again. "You forget who they have living next door."

The boy looked up. "The old witch with her two stepdaughters? Come on, man? It's not like these two houses are on top of one another. They'll never know what the heck I'm bringing over. We can visit her from time to time and see how she's doing."

The other boy shook his head. He wasn't sure he wanted to be a part of this.

"What about a name?"

"Right now, we'll call her after my favorite flower, Rose, until we found out her true identity. We don't need to attract attention, not just yet."

His companion nodded and, abandoning their hunting trip, mounted their horses, the 20 year old holding the girl in his arms.

XXXXXXXX

Aunt Flora looked down at the small bundle of arms and legs. "

"Why, she's light as a feather," the tiny woman exclaimed. She looked at her two equally tiny sisters.

"Well," Aunt Fauna answered. "he certainly knows that we'll keep her safe from harm, isn't that right, Merry?"

The third sister nodded her head in agreement. "And he knows that we've been waiting for something like this. We've always wanted a little girl to raise and he knows it."

"We've just got to keep it from his father for a while, until they discover who she really is and how she got here to this island kingdom. If it's who he thinks she is, she doesn't belong here at all and will have to be…"

"Shh," Flora said. "Let's not think about that now. We'll raise her as if she was our own. We'll find out later who she really is."

And the three tiny women turned their attention to their new charge.

XXXXXXXX

"What is with you two? This isn't the first time, you know?" Narissa Stabbington screamed at her twin sons. She looked up at her husband, Jasper, who was standing in back of the two boys. "Well, I see that Flotsam and Jetsam over there can't seem to do anything right. Somehow, that girl keeps slipping through our fingers." She scowled. "And where were you all this time?"

"Those aren't our names," the twins called out in unison. "I'm Jasper," the one with the sideburns called out, "and he's Horace."

Nathaniel frowned and turned his attention to the twins. "Keep quiet, you two,

"I told you not to use the boys, Narissa," said shaking his head. "They're not strong enough to deal with this."

"Apparently, neither are you." Narissa sighed and shook her head. "We need an heir to the throne, Nathaniel, not to mention that reward money. The girl is also supposed to have magic powers, remember?"

"Gothel was supposed to deliver her, but she betrayed all of us," Ursula, Narissa's, sister chimed in. "She got greedy and kept her for herself. Now we have to finish the job she started."

Nathaniel turned to face his sister in law. "Lucas will take over Corsica, Urs," he said shaking his head, "whether he marries this princess or not. Besides, we don't even know if it's really her. The girl's been missing since she was a baby and all of a sudden she turns up in the Kingdom of Charon? How the heck did she get from Corona to the furthest of the Four Kingdoms?"

"And passed us right by without me knowing about it," Narissa said, it's impossible. I would have known about it." She paced back and forth. "

"Well, the Queen of Corona is your sister," Nathaniel shot back. "You're supposed to be the witch in the family."

Narissa looked up. "Giselle's the oldest, Nathaniel, then Ursula, then me. The magic seems to be inherited by the women in the family. Rapunzel should have them as well. None of the boys in the family ever retained it. We were all trained to use them for good. But Urs and I had training in the dark arts thanks to her husband, Anakin."

"Yes," Nathaniel answered, rolling his eyes. "And that's why Giselle never went over to the dark side because…"

"Because she was destined to marry Robert, Ursula said, changing the subject. "Just as my Lucas is meant to marry Rapunzel," Ursula said. "He is the next in line, adopted or not. This way, Rapunzel will learn what we already know and we will be able to taint the Corona bloodline once and for all."

"That Prince Eugene was always in the way, though." Narissa said. "Rapunzel was promised to him when they were children. He's part of the ruling family on Charon and we've got to get him out of the way."

And how do you propose to do that?" Urs contributed, plucking herself down in one of the parlor chairs. "He's been missing way before this happened. Edward and Nancy Fitzherbert claim that the Prince is on holiday."

"You think that he might have something to do with this? Maybe that was why she was found in Charon," Nathaniel answered. "Makes sense, doesn't it?"

"But how did she get there in the first place?"

"That's what we have to find out, don't we?"

They all nodded in agreement.

XXXXXX

Robert stood on the castle portico shaking his head. Sixteen years he sent up the lanterns, every year on his daughter's birthday. It was a small hope, but he always heard nothing. He had held out hope when he learned that a girl had been found; a girl the same age as his daughter, but she had disappeared just as quickly. How the heck would she have gotten to Charon though, he just couldn't figure it out.

And so he dismissed the idea. It was too ridiculous to even think about. She had to be here on the island somewhere, but where?

He searched high and low, Now he was going to have to expand that search to the other three Island Kingdoms, Corsica, Caledonia and of course, Charon. She had to be there somewhere. He just didn't want to have anything to with the Stabbingtons or his brother in law, Nathaniel. And Ursula had married the older King of Corsica, Anakin, into the Vader family and inherited his son, Lucas. Anakin however died of mysterious circumstances. It was said that he had fallen into a well and was never heard from again. The dark side had consumed his part of the family on Caledonia thanks to Anakin and had invaded the Stabbingtons on Corsica. With the Prince missing on Charon and his daughter gone, it was starting to threaten Corona and Charon as well.

This was not a good sign. Something had to be done and quickly as possible. He would continue to send up the lanterns until she was found or someone would bring her home.

Or he would take matters into his own hands if it came to that. He knew that Giselle was against it, but he was tired of waiting. He missed her so much.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

_Rapunzel_

She heard the voice inside her head as she so often did between awake and asleep.

_My name is Rose _she corrected for the umpteenth time. _Who is this anyway?_

It wasn't the first time she asked this question, but she always wondered who the heck would be calling her by a name she didn't even recognize.

_As I've told you before, my name is Giselle and I'm your mother. I need you to tell me where you are and how we can help you. We've actually hired someone to help find you, but we need to know where you are. _

Rose woke with a start, knocking the book to the floor. She'd been reading by the fireplace again. She couldn't get enough of her favorite hero, Flynnagan Rider. She found the book some months back in Aunt Flora's personal library. What she was doing with these fairy tales was a bit beyond her. When she asked, she told them that she loved reading these stories to her nephew who couldn't get enough of them.

Rose found other books as well; everything from botany to astronomy to cooking and gobbled every one of them up in record time. She did so much reading by the fireplace that she was known as Cindersoot to the locals, especially Anastasia and Drizella Tremaine. And of course, the name was spread far and wide by Lady Tremaine, the woman who lived in the next cottage in the valley. On a recent visit with her three friends, she discovered the little cutie was still in the same position when she arrived, right by the fireplace reading.

And what was more; she was competition for the hand of Prince Eugene, whose summer castle could easily be glimpsed by both houses. Lady Tremaine thought that she was dangerous and should be gotten rid of, especially since the Prince loved to spend his summer afternoons there. She claimed that he was so in love with the short haired brunette that he had forgotten everything around him, so much so that he never stopped by their place anymore. It was said that he was the only one who could pry her away from her beloved books.

She absolutely hated that he had practically snubbed her only two daughters in favor of this child who was so obviously a common tramp found in the woods somewhere, obviously not royalty or of noble blood,

Unless of course, she was the missing princess that everyone was talking about. But she couldn't be, could she? The girl had long blond hair; it was not short and brown.

But the woman wasn't playing games. The old woman wanted Rose out of the way and she would stop at nothing to reach that end. Maggie Tremaine , Aunt Fauna informed Rose, was capable of anything and that included kidnapping or even murder.

And from that day forward, the four pledged to always watch out for one another.

XXXXXX

"He's been spotted, you know," Nancy Fitzherbert said to her husband, Edward. "He's been seen at the cottage of your three tiny aunts. Maggie Tremaine has been…

"Yes, I know, Nancy," Edward said. "He's supposedly has been seeing this Cinder whoever person for months now, then disappears as quickly as he had shows up. They take walks and have deep conversations. If he returns to the castle at all, it's just to eat and sleep, if that. The truth is that no one has seen him anywhere and I really can't trust Maggie. She's one nasty spot, Nancy. Why my cousin Pip married her is beyond me. I'm telling you, even if her daughters were something to look at, I would be against the marriage. It's bad enough she's been spreading rumors all over the kingdom."

Nancy shrugged. "That girl could be the lost princess of Corona. It has been said that the mural in the Courtyard of the Sun."

Edward nodded. "And it's also been said that while the little girl has the same large green eyes, her hair is long and blond. This girl seems to have short brown hair."

Nancy nodded. "So my three sisters have informed me. She's lost her memory as well."

"We'll figure it out," Edward said, placing an arm around his wife. "In the meantime, we will have to keep an eye out for our son."

XXXXX

"So, what did you find out?" the boy said looking at his friend. The two hadn't been together since they found Rose in the woods.

The other boy nodded. "I've been in the castle library for days. No one knows that I was even in there "

His companion shook his head and smiled. "Well, how could they, the library's been hidden in the furthest turret for years. Hardly anyone goes there and what's more it has its own entrance. Even the public is allowed to visit"

His eyes grew wide and the smile grew wider. "So," he repeated. "What did you find out? Is she the lost princess?

"I'm not really sure, cousin. I think she might be, I've been over there almost every day, trying to get her to remember who she is, but nothing helps. She still has no clue who she is. We will just have to convince her so that we can both deliver her to Corona."

"And split the reward money,"

The two laughed and shook hands, but it was clear that one of them had more than delivering the Lost Princess on his mind.

XXXXX

"How could you even think to hire that Flynn Rider person," Robert frowned. "No one knows who he is. It's been said that he's some important person in disguise. He could even be royalty, rumor has it."

Giselle nodded. "That's what we've heard. I know he has a companion also rumored to be royalty."

"We will soon find out, I suppose. Have you heard anything from either of them?"

"We got a message from Rider, but he still hasn't informed me of her whereabouts. I've been sending messages to her every night, but she still believes that she is Rose. She tells me that her handsome companion has been calling her that. She's hidden in some house in the woods and from what I've been hearing; it's near that old witch Lady Margaret Tremaine and her two daughters. "

Robert's eyes widened. "Well, then she's not that far from the Fitzherbert's castle. Maybe we can get Eugene to keep an eye out for her."

Giselle shook her head. "No one knows where he is. He's been missing for days. His father is pressing him to find a wife and at this point anyone will do, even a commoner. A ball has been planned, but not sure when it will be now."

Robert shook his head. "We'll just have wait and watch to see what happens. Hopefully, you're right and she's staying with Edward's aunts."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Ursula wasn't happy. Clearly, she was in a really nasty mood. Every evil deed that the dark side came up with was foiled. Lady Tremaine sent the huntsman to kill Rapunzel, but he couldn't bear to kill such a lovely girl. The Evil Queen gave her a poisoned apple, but seven Pub Thugs rescued her and brought her back on a lovely white horse named Max. Maleficent as the dragon crashed and burned, thanks to three tiny sisters.

Every villain that they sent out was thwarted by some good guy and that included the Fairy Godmother, the Blue Fairy, Mama Odie, Ray the firefly, R2D2, C3PO, Max and Glinda the Good Witch of the North.

"It's actually South," Narissa corrected as if she could read her sister's thoughts. "Well according to the book that is."

Ursula stared hot red daggers at her sibling. She screamed, stood up and stamped her foot.

If looks could kill, Narissa thought. "What the heck did I do?"

"Does it look like we're in Oz? Wrong story, sis," she said shaking her head. "Try to get it right or I'll launch the Flying Monkeys. This is Disney, remember?"

Narissa thought for a moment. "Didn't they just come out with a prequel, Oz the Great and…"

"SHUT UP," Ursula cried, clearly losing her temper. She turned away from her younger sister.

"Everything is going wrong. That girl will never come here. She got too many people protecting her."

"Stop throwing out your silly spells and let Darth do his job." Narissa said, rubbing her hands together. "She'll come to us, my sweet sister. It will happen, you'll see, even if we have to meet in the middle."

Ursula turned to stare at her. "What have you gotten from that end? Have you found out where she is?"

Narissa smiled. "She's on Charon, alright. She's living with her Nancy's three sister's that's all. She's been hiding out in that little shack in the woods as if those three midgets could protect her. Tremaine saw right through them. Darth is on his way to collect her now."

Ursula frowned. "What are you talking about? The boys, Rider and Vader?"

Narissa nodded her head. "He's headed over there now."

"Which one, sister?" Ursula spat. "You know that Rapunzel can recognize Rider. He's been visiting her for years. "

Narissa smiled wider. "Never underestimate the power of the dark side," she said simply. "This one is fool proof and it's all Rider's doing."

"You're sure about this?" Ursula asked, not trusting anything her baby sister said. She'd botched things up before; her and that stupid husband of hers. She'd always known Nathaniel was an idiot when it came to planning.

"Trust me," Narissa answered, a pleading look in her eyes.

Ursula stared back and forced a smile. That's just what she was afraid of. She didn't want to laugh, she wanted to scream. This was too big to let the two of them handle this, but she'd watch over it and when the time came, she'd take over. This was her show, but for now she'd let Narissa do the all the dirty work.

XXXXX

Flynn Rider shook his head. How could he have been so thoughtless? He let down his guard and trusted his good friend, Darth; especially on a hunting trip, no less. Why he let his friend impersonate him was a complete mystery.

He should have realized that it was more than a day he'd use his identity to get near that lovely Rapunzel. It was those deep green pools of hers. You could get lost in them. He had watched over that girl since Darth rescued her in the woods.

It was really no secret at all and just his fault too. He wanted to believe that his best friend was in the entire world was going to go straight and do the right thing.

Now, he was in a prison of his own making, struggling to get out of the bonds that Darth had thrown him into. The dark magic on that side of the family was usually too much for him

Now his best friend had robbed him of everything, including his name. The face was a different story. His friend wore a dark helmet and dressed in his flowing black robes, the royalty garb of the Vaders of Caldonia. She would recognize that it wasn't him in a second, especially if he took off that helmet, unless he used the Dark Arts to change his face and he wasn't sure if he could do that.

Rider tried to loosen his bonds but it was no use. He was stuck there, chained to the wall in the tower torture chamber. He had to reach Rapunzel before Vader did or things would never be the same.

Or at least find some way to let Flora, Fauna and Merry know. Or perhaps they knew already. They would protect her he was sure of it.

XXXXX

Darth put the finishing touches on his royal robes, laughing as he did so. That fool, he thought as he stared at himself in the mirror. He remembered every last detail of what happened, from the minute Darth hit Rider over the head with his sword; then dragged him through a maze of rooms into the torture room; something that they'd both forgotten about.

"I should have never let you find her," Rider had said. "I should have never let you call yourself by my name/"

Darth grinned as he tied Rider's bonds and attached them to the hooks on the wall. "Don't worry, Rider, I'll never let you near her, not again."

"She's seen my face, Darth. She wouldn't recognize you especially when you pull that helmet off your head. That's all she's seen. I don't think …"

Darth smiled. "That's a problem isn't it? Well, you don't know the half of it, my friend. There's no way out of this one. Never underestimate that power of the dark side." He left. "Our time is now. It's time our family got a little recognition here, Rider. She's coming back with me whether you like it or not. And I can see already that you just don't like it. I know more magic tricks that you can shake a stick at. My family wants Rapunzel to marry me. You're still on holiday, my sweet prince. "

Rider spat. "What did you tell her about me, Darth? I was dead? I was detained? That an accident left me disfigured?"

"For me to know and you to find out," Darth said, " and you will eventually, but when it's much too late for you to do anything about it."

Rider shook his head as Vader stepped back to admire his handiwork. "You won't get away with this, Darth and that's the truth. I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve, myself."

And that's where the conversation left off, but Darth wasn't worried was he? He knew his side would win. He still had that potion left that would give him Rider's face if he needed it. He knew a thing or two about a magic, especially dark magic and that was the one thing he had over Flynn Rider.

Or was it? There was something that was nagging at him, something he was forgetting. No matter. He'd pull this one off. He was sure of it, wasn't he?


End file.
